From Morethanglam

You stayed up later than usual, partying or binge-watching your favorite Netflix show, and now you’re paying for it. After just one night, your body aches all over and your under eye bags make you look like a Walking Dead extra. The worst part is that you have to be at work in a few hours and would rather not show up looking like you never went to bed last night.

Getting dark circles is super frustrating, especially when they are glaringly apparent no matter how much makeup you use to disguise them. But here’s the good news: Faking a full night’s sleep no longer has to be a trial and error of using heavy (and sometimes unflattering) makeup to hide evidence of last night. For a fresher look, use this simple facial routine to brighten your under eye area.

1. Before you pick up your concealer, gently dab eye cream on your under eye bags.

The right eye cream will act as a primer and allow your concealer to glide on smoothly. Choose a concealer that will hydrate and brighten your skin at the same time. Olay’s Deep Hydrating Eye Gel contains hyaluronic acid, cucumber extract and vitamin B5, all of which promote healthy, nourished skin. It also helps reduce the appearance of wrinkles.

2. Now that you’re officially ready to move on to the concealer stage, pick a color correcting one.

Your regular concealer won’t do. For the best results, use a color correcting concealer to balance out the bruising on your under eye bags. If you have lighter skin, concealers with a peach undertone are more effective because they get rid of any blue undertones present.

If your skin is darker like mine, a bright orange concealer will do the trick! When you’re picking out your concealer, choose a one that already comes in a set. It’ll be much easier and cheaper to tackle different issues that come up in the future!

3. Before you irritate your under eye bags any further, make sure you apply your concealer correctly AND in areas that you actually need it.

Rule of thumb: Gently pat the area instead of rubbing it in. The more you touch the bruised area, the more sensitive it will likely feel. It’s also crucial that you don’t just apply it to your entire under eye area, but rather the spots that need it the most. A key tip is starting right below where the bruising begins so you don’t interfere with any other eye makeup you apply later.

4. If you need an even quicker fix, under eye patches are the way to go!

There are two reasons why I’m obsessed with eye patches: They instantly cool down the bruised area and make the swelling go down, and are relatively cheap. These eye patches by Tarte are perfect for when you’re in a hurry. The best part is that you can throw them in your bag for work emergencies.

Cassandra is a beauty and lifestyle writer. She spends most of her time treating herself to dinner and movie dates, pretending her life is a Marvel comic and figuring out how to keep her makeup on her face. Not necessarily in that order. She blogs about affordable outfits from her favorite movies and TV shows at Onscreencloset.com.